ND alum Bruenderman qualifies for NCAA west preliminary

Notre Dame alum and Saint Louis sophomore Evan Bruenderman will compete in the triple jump at the west preliminary of the NCAA Division I Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships, held May 24-27 at California State University, Sacramento in Sacramento, Calif.

"I wasn't expecting to make it this far," Bruenderman said.

Bruenderman is seeded 45th, and a top-12 finish will land him a spot in the finals in Austin, Texas, June 7-10.

"I'm ready to give it all I've got and see what I can do next weekend in California," Bruenderman.

Bruenderman finished in third place in the triple jump with a PR of 15.25 meters in the Atlantic-10 championships on May 6-7 at Amherst, Massachusetts.

“Going into the outdoor conference championship, I knew that I was ready and had prepared myself for what was to come," Bruenderman said. "It was apparent to me that my competition had done the same, with the majority of the competition also hitting personal best jumps. In the preliminary round, my teammate Jayden (Koaudio) jumped an almost three-foot personal best, which was awesome to see! After seeing his incredible jump, it motivated me in knowing I could also have a huge jump. It wasn’t until the final round that I was able to jump a new personal best of 15.25m (50 1/2 ft) and place third in the conference. Only being a sophomore, and breaking 50 feet in the triple jump is an awesome feeling. And knowing that Jayden’s season and mine aren't over motivates us, even more, to go further. Knowing that I could potentially qualify for the national meet is something I would’ve never thought someone would’ve told me at the beginning of the season.

Eight Southeast Missouri State athletes also qualified for the first round of the NCAA championships. The Redhawks will be represented by Clara Billing, Laila Hardin, Luke Hatfield-Jackson, Dylan Clark, Parker Feuerborn, Marshall Swadley, Justin Breault, and Poplar Bluff native Josia Kilgore.

Notre Dame alum and Louisville pole vaulter Carly Pujol qualified for the east preliminary round in Jacksonville, Fla.